Sunday, June 10, 2007

salt of the earth pt. 2


Photo copyright 2001 Gazelle

She's the matriarch of the family, and at Carnival time her family is in charge of gathering the ants into big bags. She troops out into the countryside with her daughters, sons, grandchildren, and random volunteers to visit the ant hills she monitors all year. Then, at a specified time on a particular day of Carnival, the large and angry ants are brought into the plaza and thrown into the crowd, biting as they land on the unlucky spectators and participants. It's an absurd tradition, but a very old one - a combination of hilarious prank and serious punishment. No one should take it personally, though - if you drop by her place she'll pour you a cup of coffee or vino and you can sing songs with the family.

Galicia, Spain

2 comments:

Patch said...

Cool story Gazelle.

Gazelle said...

Thanks. Her family was the warmest and most genuine you could imagine.